Kwakwang

A defense of the ending

I think a lot of people were disappointed by the S3 ending because they came in expecting the wrong thing. Viewers who are used to western shows or kdramas might have expected greater closure, justice and perhaps a big emotional payoff, but squid game has never played by those rules.

Since the beginning, the show has drawn way more from korean cinema traditions like Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, Burning, Parasite, Memories of Murder than your typical kdrama. These critically acclaimed Korean movies dont wrap things up nicely either. Their stories are meant to make the viewer uncomfortable and make the viewers reflect. Unfortunately, in real life, systems don’t magically get fixed, and good people dont always win

S3 stayed true to that. After Gihun failed to take down the system in S2, he had no choice but to step back, survive, and deal with what it would cost him to stay human in the process
The good side of humanity is what Gihun represents. He doesn’t try to outfight the games anymore. He just refuses to become like the ones instigating them. His choice becomes quiet, and it is to be kind, to protect others, to not sell out his soul. Even if he dies, humanity still wins a little, because we realize there are people like him in the world

Meanwhile, 333 tries to be above it all, being smarter, colder but in the end, the system hes in still eats him alive, bc playing the vips' game better doesn't save you. it just delays the crash (as we saw in the final episode).

The finale doesnt give us a satisfying resolution and I believe its not supposed to. Its about survival, inequality, power, and what happens when cruelty becomes normalized. Still, its not completely hopeless. There are small, quiet wins like Gyeongseok (346) reuniting with his daughter or the island getting completely dismantled

When the finale revealed that the Games exist all over the world, including in the US, it felt less like a teaser and more like a statement. Some took it as a setup for a future spin-off, but I saw it differently (personally, I also dont want a SG USA)

I believe the ending wasnt hinting at an expansion, it was underscoring the global nature of exploitation. It was telling us: “hey this isnt just a korean problem, its global.”
If Netflix goes ahead with spin-offs, itll just feel like theyre milking it
Even the director initially didnt want a S2 or S3, he made it because Netflix asked. Its all about money. Netflix pushed for it and here we are.

That being said, the one thing I really wish they had improved and honestly, what actively dragged the show down for me was the english dialogue
It was disgusting. Not just awkward or poorly delivered, but tone-breaking. The lines often felt unnatural, cartoonish, and written without real understanding of how english is spoken in serious drama
It killed the immersion, it made otherwise tense scenes laughable and for a show thats so carefully crafted in other ways, this sticks out like a sore thumb

This show was never about giving us what we want. It was about showing us what the world really is sometimes. The truth doesn’t comfort you it just stares back
Hwang Donghyuk’s show is a critique of how far people are willing to go when driven by desperation and greed


If youre reading this and the ending didnt land for you, thats completely valid. It does leave a lot unresolved, and that can be frustrating
But I encourage anyone feeling that way to explore the kind of cinema that shaped this specific korean way of conveying stories
Watching more korean cinema, especially the directors own work like Silenced, might offer a new lens through which to view the finale

SG sparked a lot of discussion for a reason, and that alone says a lot

Cheers

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